Animal trap

ABSTRACT

An animal trap includes a first portion; a second portion in sliding relationship with the first portion; a biasing mechanism for biasing the first and second portions towards a deployed position; members extending from the lower end of the first portion, the members protruding beyond the second portion when the first and second portions are in a cocked position, wherein the members are resiliently deformable; a bottom portion coupled to distal ends of the members; and a trigger mechanism for selectively locking the first and second portions in the cocked position, wherein actuation of the trigger causes the release of the first and second portions from the cocked position. Additional embodiments are also disclosed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to animal traps, and more particularly,this invention relates to at least partially subterranean, mechanicalanimal traps.

BACKGROUND

Many different subterranean animal traps exist in the marketplace today.However, to set these traps, often times a hole must be dug down to thedepth where the animals travel and/or live. Also, in some cases, theanimal trap may become misaligned once it is set and the hole iscovered, thereby compromising the trap's effectiveness. Moreover, thereis usually no way to know if the buried trap has been sprung or not;therefore it may be required to dig up the trap periodically to check onits status.

Conventional traps which include poison are also highly undesirable asthey can be harmful to people who may come into close proximity to it.The poison may also contaminate the ground and/or the groundwaterthereby resulting in undesirable and unintended effects. Moreover,poisons can be expensive as well as unavailable to the general public,thereby making them an undesirable solution to animal control.

Thus, such conventional products tend to increase user interaction,thereby decreasing their effectiveness and ease of operation. Therefore,it would be beneficial to have an animal trap product which possesses amore efficient design and/or mechanical properties.

SUMMARY

An animal trap according to one embodiment includes a first portionhaving an upper and a lower end; a second portion in slidingrelationship with the first portion, wherein the first and secondportions are relatively positionable between a cocked position and adeployed position; a biasing mechanism for biasing the first and secondportions towards the deployed position; members extending from the lowerend of the first portion, the members protruding beyond the secondportion when the first and second portions are in the cocked position,wherein the members are resiliently deformable; a bottom portion coupledto distal ends of the members, the bottom portion being farther from thesecond portion when the first and second portions are in the cockedposition than when in the deployed position, wherein the bottom portionis about adjacent a lower end of the second portion when in the deployedposition; and a trigger mechanism for selectively locking the first andsecond portions in the cocked position, the trigger mechanism having atrigger extending between the members, wherein actuation of the triggercauses the release of the first and second portions from the cockedposition.

An animal trap according to another embodiment includes a first portionhaving an upper and a lower end; a second portion in slidingrelationship with the first portion, wherein the first and secondportions are relatively positionable between a cocked position and adeployed position; a biasing mechanism for biasing the first and secondportions towards the deployed position; a bottom portion coupled to thelower end of the first portion, the bottom portion being farther fromthe second portion when the first and second portions are in the cockedposition than when in the deployed position, wherein the bottom portionis about adjacent a lower end of the second portion when in the deployedposition; and a trigger mechanism for selectively locking the first andsecond portions in the cocked position, the trigger mechanism having anomnidirectional trigger, wherein actuation of the trigger causes therelease of the first and second portions from the cocked position.

Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description, which, when taken inconjunction with the drawings, illustrate by way of example theprinciples of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the presentinvention, as well as the preferred mode of use, reference should bemade to the following detailed description read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an animal trap according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cocked side view of an animal trap according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 3 is a deployed side view of the animal trap according of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4A is a detailed partial cross-sectional view of a cocked triggeraccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 4B is a detailed partial cross-sectional view of a deployed triggeraccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 5A is a detailed partial cross-sectional view of a cocked triggeraccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 5B is a detailed partial cross-sectional view of a cocked triggeraccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 5C is a detailed partial cross-sectional view of a deployed triggeraccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a partial detailed side view of members with feet, accordingto one embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an animal trap in use, according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is made for the purpose of illustrating thegeneral principles of the present invention and is not meant to limitthe inventive concepts claimed herein. Further, particular featuresdescribed herein can be used in combination with other describedfeatures in each of the various possible combinations and permutations.

Unless otherwise specifically defined herein, all terms are to be giventheir broadest possible interpretation including meanings implied fromthe specification as well as meanings understood by those skilled in theart and/or as defined in dictionaries, treatises, etc.

It must also be noted that, as used in the specification and theappended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include pluralreferents unless otherwise specified.

The following description discloses several preferred embodiments of ananimal trap and/or related systems and methods.

In one general embodiment, an animal trap includes a first portionhaving an upper and a lower end; a second portion in slidingrelationship with the first portion, wherein the first and secondportions are relatively positionable between a cocked position and adeployed position; a biasing mechanism for biasing the first and secondportions towards the deployed position; members extending from the lowerend of the first portion, the members protruding beyond the secondportion when the first and second portions are in the cocked position,wherein the members are resiliently deformable; a bottom portion coupledto distal ends of the members, the bottom portion being farther from thesecond portion when the first and second portions are in the cockedposition than when in the deployed position, wherein the bottom portionis about adjacent a lower end of the second portion when in the deployedposition; and a trigger mechanism for selectively locking the first andsecond portions in the cocked position, the trigger mechanism having atrigger extending between the members, wherein actuation of the triggercauses the release of the first and second portions from the cockedposition.

In another general embodiment, an animal trap includes a first portionhaving an upper and a lower end; a second portion in slidingrelationship with the first portion, wherein the first and secondportions are relatively positionable between a cocked position and adeployed position; a biasing mechanism for biasing the first and secondportions towards the deployed position; a bottom portion coupled to thelower end of the first portion, the bottom portion being farther fromthe second portion when the first and second portions are in the cockedposition than when in the deployed position, wherein the bottom portionis about adjacent a lower end of the second portion when in the deployedposition; and a trigger mechanism for selectively locking the first andsecond portions in the cocked position, the trigger mechanism having anomnidirectional trigger, wherein actuation of the trigger causes therelease of the first and second portions from the cocked position.

FIG. 1 depicts an animal trap 100 for trapping animals, in accordancewith one embodiment. As an option, the present animal trap 100 may beimplemented in conjunction with features from any other embodimentlisted herein, such as those described with reference to the other FIGS.Of course, however, such animal trap 100 and others presented herein maybe used in various applications and/or in permutations which may or maynot be specifically described in the illustrative embodiments listedherein. Further, the animal trap 100 presented herein may be used in anydesired environment. Moreover, common numbering may be implemented forsome and/or all of the FIGS. presented herein.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, the animal trap 100 includes a first portion102 having an upper and lower end 104, 106. As shown in FIG. 1, a cap103 may be coupled to the upper end 104, e.g., by a pin 105, anadhesive, frictional coupling, etc. The cap 103 retains a biasingmechanism 114, an example of which is described in more detail below. Ofcourse, other approaches may be used instead of a cap and/or externalbiasing mechanism as shown, such as an integral flange extending aroundthe upper end 104, an internal biasing mechanism abutting an internalportion of the first portion, etc.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the animal trap 100 includes asecond portion 108 in sliding relationship with the first portion 102.Moreover, the first and second portions 102, 108 may be relativelypositionable between a cocked position and a deployed position, asdepicted in FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively. According to variousapproaches, the second portion may be positioned outside the firstportion, the first portion may be positioned outside the second portion,etc.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the lower end 107 of the secondportion 108 may preferably be serrated to better capture an animal whichmay trip the trigger mechanism which is described in further detailbelow. In other approaches, the lower end of the second portions may beflat, a sharp edge, etc. or any other texture which would be apparent toone skilled in the art upon reading the present description.

As shown in FIG. 1, a sleeve member 111 may be coupled to the upper end109 of the second portion 108, e.g., to retain the biasing mechanism114. Alternative approaches may use any type of mechanism to engage orretain the biasing mechanism, such as an integral flange, a pin, aninternal member in an approach where the biasing mechanism is internal,etc.

In another approach, the animal trap may include an indicator 113 thatis visible when the first and second portions are in a deployedposition. In the embodiment shown, the indicator is a colored region onthe first portion. According to various approaches, the indicator mayinclude a visibly distinct portion of the first and/or second portions,a light source, an audio source, a wireless signal which is relayed to areceiver, a flag, etc. or any other indicator which would be apparent toone skilled in the art upon reading the present description.

This indicator preferably notifies a user if the trap has been deployed,even when the lower end of the second portion is submerged below theground. Thus the relative position between the first and second portionsmay be discerned without removing the trap from its partially submergedlocation.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 4, the animal trap 100 includes members110 extending from the lower end 106 of the first portion 102.Furthermore, the members 110 protrude beyond the second portion 108 whenthe second portion 108 and the first portion 102 are in the cockedposition as shown.

The animal trap 100 additionally includes a bottom portion 112 e.g. aring, a plate, etc. coupled to distal ends of the members 110. In oneapproach, the bottom portion may be coupled to the lower end of thefirst portion. In another approach, the members may extend between thelower end of the first portion and the bottom portion, explained indetail below. Preferably, the bottom portion may be rigid orsubstantially inflexible such that it may retain its general shape whenin the cocked and/or deployed position.

Moreover, the bottom portion 112 may be farther from the second portion108 when the first and second portions 102, 108 are in the cockedposition than when in the deployed position. Preferably, the bottomportion 112 is about adjacent a lower end 107 of the second portion 108when in the deployed position. According to the present description,“about adjacent” may most preferably signify a state in which the bottomportion and the lower end are close enough together to trap a part of ananimal which may trip the trigger mechanism, explained in more detailbelow. According to various approaches, “about adjacent” may beperfectly adjacent, the bottom portion being recessed into the secondportion, be within a range of values, etc. In one illustrative example,“about adjacent” may be within the range of about ±1 in to about ±0.1 inbetween the bottom portion and the lower end of the second portion; butmay be more or less depending on the desired embodiment.

According to various approaches, the overall length of the animal trapas measured by the dimension between the furthest most ends of theanimal trap in the cocked position may be between about 6 in (inch) andabout 36 in, but could be higher or lower based on the desiredembodiment. In other approaches, the dimension between the bottomportion 112 and the lower end 107 of the second portion when the trap isin the cocked position may be from about 1 in to about 12 in, but may behigher or lower based on the desired embodiment.

The animal trap 100 depicted in FIG. 1 also includes a biasing mechanism114, e.g. a spring, hydraulic tube, pressurized compartment, etc. forbiasing the first and second portions 102, 108 towards the deployedposition. Thus, the biasing mechanism may bias the first and secondportions towards a deployed position upon having a trigger mechanismtripped, thereby bringing the bottom portion about adjacent to the lowerend of the second portion to preferably trap a part of the animal whichtripped the trigger mechanism.

In a preferred embodiment, the biasing mechanism is sufficient to holdthe trapped animal as well as deploy the animal trap fast enough to trapthe animal before it is able to escape. According to various approaches,the force of the biasing mechanism may range between about 3 and about15 pounds of force in the deployed position, but may be higher or lowerbased on the desired embodiment. According to one approach, the biasingmechanism may be positioned between the upper end of the first portionand an upper end of the second portion.

Furthermore, the animal trap 100 includes a trigger mechanism forselectively locking the first and second portions 102, 108 in the cockedposition. As depicted in FIG. 1, the trigger mechanism in oneillustrative embodiment includes portions 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123.Note that any type of known trigger mechanism may be adapted for usewith various embodiments, as will be apparent to one skilled in the artupon reading the present disclosure.

According to the present embodiment, and with particular reference toFIGS. 2, 4-5 the trigger mechanism additionally includes a trigger 124extending between the members 110, wherein actuation of the trigger 124causes the release of the second portion 102 and first portion 108 fromthe cocked position. Thereby the aforementioned biasing mechanism mayquickly bias the first and second portions toward the deployed position.In one approach, the trigger may preferably be exposed when the firstand second portions are in a cocked position.

Referring now to FIGS. 4A-4B, the trigger mechanism is depicted inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment. Moreover, portions 118, 119,120, 121, 122, and 123 may be arranged such that a force applied to thetrigger 124 about perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the trigger124, may allow portion 118 to shift its position, thereby releasing thesecond portion 102 and first portion 108 from the cocked position.

In a preferred approach, the trigger mechanism may be self-resetting,self-actuating, self-setting, etc. when the first and second portionsare moved from the deployed position to the cocked position. This may beaccomplished by implementing a tab, a pivoting pin, etc., such asportion 118, which may be activated by the relative motion between thefirst and second portions toward a cocked position. Thereby the triggermechanism may be reset each time the first and second portions are slidinto the cocked position.

In one illustrative approach, as depicted in FIGS. 1, 4A-4B, the secondportion 108 includes a first slot 130 and a second slot 132. As shown inFIG. 4A, a tab 134 of the portion 118 extends into the second slot 132when the animal trap is in the cocked position, which in conjunctionwith a lower end of the portion 118 abutting the upper tip of thetrigger 124, locks the animal trap in the cocked position. The relativebiasing of the first and second portions in the cocked position exerts aforce on the tab 134 that translates into a biasing of the lower end ofthe portion 118 towards the trigger 124.

Referring to FIG. 4A, when the trigger 124 is tripped, the lower end ofthe member 118 is released, which in turn retracts the tab 134 of theportion 118 from the second slot 132, which releases the animal trap fordeployment to the deployed position.

During deployment, the upper end 136 of the portion 118 is received inthe first slot 130. When the animal trap is moved towards the cockedposition, the bottom of the first slot 130 engages the upper end 136 ofthe portion 118, thereby urging the portion 118 towards a lockedposition, shown in FIG. 4B. Thus, the trigger mechanism in theillustrated embodiment is considered self-resetting.

In a preferred embodiment, the trigger mechanism may be omnidirectional.As used herein, an omnidirectional trigger mechanism may be tripped by aforce applied to the trigger 124 along any direction in a plane orientedperpendicular to a direction of movement of the first and secondportions 102, 108 between the cocked and deployed positions, e.g., theplane is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the trap, in theillustrate embodiment. As a result, the animal trap may be deployed suchthat it may have any radial orientation about its longitudinal axiswithout sacrificing effectiveness. This is different than conventionaltraps, as they usually have a one, or maybe two directional trigger,thereby requiring a specific orientation of the given trap with relationto the path of the animal in order to be effective. Thus, for thepreferred embodiment, the trigger mechanism may be tripped by an animal,regardless of the radial orientation of the trap, relative to an animal.In further approaches, any type of trigger known in the art may be used,depending on the desired embodiment, as will be apparent to one skilledin the art upon reading the present disclosure.

In another approach, the trigger mechanism may be trippable by actuatingthe trigger in a direction about parallel to the direction of movementbetween the cocked and deployed positions, e.g., about along thelongitudinal axis of the trap. In a further approach, the triggermechanism may be omnidirectional as well as trippable in the directionabout parallel to the direction of movement between the cocked anddeployed positions.

Referring now to FIGS. 5A-5C, there is shown an alternate embodiment ofa trigger mechanism in a cocked, engaged, and deployed position,respectively. Such an embodiment allows an animal to enter farther intothe area between the bottom portion 112 and the remainder of the trap.This embodiment increases the likelihood that an animal will be securelycaught by presenting more of its body to the trap. This approach alsoreduces the likelihood that a wary animal will partially engage thetrigger but back out of the trap before tripping the trigger. Thetrigger mechanism may include a member having an aperture that taperstogether towards a receiving portion for receiving the trigger. Asdepicted, the trigger 124 has a bulbous end that is slidably received inthe receiving portion, preferably such that the trigger mechanism maystill be omnidirectional.

In a preferred approach, the trigger may preferably be short enoughand/or resistive enough to allow dirt being pushed by an animal throughthe members, to pass by the trigger without actuating it and deployingthe trap. However, the trigger may preferably be long enough and/orunconstrained enough to be actuated when an animal itself contacts thetrigger.

In a preferred embodiment, the members 110 may be preferably resilientlydeformable, including metals, alloys, polycarbonates, etc. or any othermaterial not easily chewable by an animal which would be apparent to oneskilled in the art upon reading the present description. In a preferredapproach, the members may include spring steel, or like material.Preferably, the members are constructed of a corrosion resistantmaterial such as stainless steel, etc.

Being resiliently deformable, the members may be able to quickly retractwhen the trap has been deployed without inhibiting the relative motionbetween the first and second portions, caused by the biasing mechanism.This may be highly desirable as to ensure that the animal is not able toescape before the first and second portions are able to reach thedeployed position.

Resiliently deformable members are also capable of lateral expansion asthe bottom member comes into contact with the base of a tunnel, hole,etc. when the trap is in the cocked position. See FIG. 7. This isbeneficial in that the volume defined inside the members increases,thereby permitting easier entry therein to the animal. Moreover, themembers bowing towards the walls of the tunnel reduces the chance thatthe animal will pass outside of the area between the members where thetrigger resides.

Thus in one approach, the members may be primarily flexible along asingle plane but not in the other planes e.g. by using a leaf typespring. As alluded to above, flex in the members may also increase theseparation between the members as to allow an animal to pass through themembers more easily. This may allow the trigger to become more exposedand thus more easily trippable by an animal. Therefore, the embodimentsdescribed and/or suggested herein may adjust to comply with eachenvironment in which they are used. However, in yet another approach,the members may be rigid.

,Now referring to FIG. 6, according to one embodiment, the members 110of the animal trap 100 may include feet 602 adjacent the bottom portion112 such that the feet may urge the members to flex away from thetrigger when engaging a surface(see the dotted outline in FIG. 6), suchas the bottom of a tunnel. This may preferably prevent the members fromflexing toward the trigger, which may either trip the trigger or blockit from being tripped. According to various approaches, the feet may beextensions of the members, material attached to the members, etc.

In a preferred approach, an animal trap may include at least threemembers extending from the lower end of the first portion and coupled tothe bottom portion, but may have more or less depending on the desiredembodiment. However, if an animal trap includes less than three members,then the bottom portion connected thereto may shift or pivot during use.As a result, the bottom portion may not remain generally aligned withthe longitudinal axis of the trap, and the trap may fail to capture ananimal even when the animal actuates the trigger. However, suchmisalignment may be remedied to some extent by using wider members, suchas wide leaf-spring type members that resist flexing out of a planeoriented perpendicular to the widest plane of the member. Thus,preferred embodiments have at least three members. Moreover, if the twomembers are aligned with the tunnel, the animal may simply walk aroundthe members and miss the trigger.

In a further approach, the at least three members are preferably evenlyspaced to ensure that the bottom member is about centered along thelongitudinal axis of the animal trap. The use of three or more membersmay also preferably reduce dependency upon aligning any portion of thetrap with the animal's path.

In one approach, an animal trap may include a stopping mechanismincorporated to stop the first and second portions at the deployedposition. According to various approaches, the stopping mechanism may bea lip, a flange, etc. on the first portion, the second portion, and/orthe bottom portion; a part of the trigger mechanism; etc. The stoppingmechanism may be included to prevent wear on the other components of theanimal trap during use, thereby increasing the effective lifetime of theanimal trap.

Referring now to FIG. 7, an animal trap 100 is shown being usedaccording to one approach. The animal trap 100 is partially submerged inthe ground 702 such that it may intercept the path of an animal along atunnel 704. In a preferred approach, when the animal trap is set, theupper end may be oriented towards the sky. In a further approach, theanimal trap may be oriented such that the axis between its upper andlower ends (longitudinal axis) may be about perpendicular to the planeof the ground 702 in which it is submerged. However, the axisorientation may be angled in any manner desired based on the particularsituation in which used.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, and notlimitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of an embodiment of the presentinvention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplaryembodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the followingclaims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An animal trap comprising: a first portion havingan upper and a lower end; a second portion in sliding relationship withthe first portion, wherein the first and second portions are relativelypositionable between a cocked position and a deployed position; abiasing mechanism for biasing the first and second portions towards thedeployed position; members extending from the lower end of the firstportion, the members protruding beyond the second portion when the firstand second portions are in the cocked position, wherein the members areresiliently deformable; a bottom portion coupled to distal ends of themembers, the bottom portion being farther from the second portion whenthe first and second portions are in the cocked position than when inthe deployed position, wherein the bottom portion is about adjacent alower end of the second portion when in the deployed position; and atrigger mechanism for selectively locking the first and second portionsin the cocked position, the trigger mechanism having a trigger extendingbetween the members, wherein actuation of the trigger causes the releaseof the first and second portions from the cocked position.
 2. The animaltrap as described in claim 1, wherein at least three of the membersextend from the lower end of the first portion, and are coupled to thebottom portion.
 3. The animal trap as described in claim 1, wherein themembers are primarily flexible along a single plane.
 4. The animal trapas described in claim 1, wherein the members include feet adjacent thebottom portion; wherein the feet urge the members to flex away from thetrigger when engaging a surface.
 5. The animal trap as described inclaim 1, wherein the biasing mechanism is positioned between the upperend of the first portion and an upper end of the second portion.
 6. Theanimal trap as described in claim 1, further comprising a stoppingmechanism configured to stop the first and second portions at thedeployed position.
 7. The animal trap as described in claim 1, whereinthe trigger mechanism is self-resetting when the first and secondportions are moved from the deployed position to the cocked position. 8.The animal trap as described in claim 1, wherein the trigger mechanismis omnidirectional.
 9. The animal trap as described in claim 1, furthercomprising an indicator on the first portion that is visible when firstand second portions are in a deployed position.
 10. An animal trapcomprising: a first portion having an upper and a lower end; a secondportion in sliding relationship with the first portion, wherein thefirst and second portions are relatively positionable between a cockedposition and a deployed position; a biasing mechanism for biasing thefirst and second portions towards the deployed position; a bottomportion coupled to the lower end of the first portion, the bottomportion being farther from the second portion when the first and secondportions are in the cocked position than when in the deployed position,wherein the bottom portion is about adjacent a lower end of the secondportion when in the deployed position; and a trigger mechanism forselectively locking the first and second portions in the cockedposition, the trigger mechanism having an omnidirectional trigger,wherein actuation of the trigger causes the release of the first andsecond portions from the cocked position.
 11. The animal trap asdescribed in claim 10, further comprising members extending between thelower end of the first portion and the bottom portion, the membersprotruding beyond the second portion when the first and second portionsare in the cocked position.
 12. The animal trap as described in claim10, wherein the members are resiliently deformable.
 13. The animal trapas described in claim 10, wherein at least three of the members extendfrom the lower end of the first portion, and are coupled to the bottomportion.
 14. The animal trap as described in claim 10, wherein themembers are primarily flexible along a single plane.
 15. The animal trapas described in claim 10, wherein the members include feet adjacent thebottom portion; wherein the feet urge the members to flex away from thetrigger when engaging a surface.
 16. The animal trap as described inclaim 10, wherein the biasing mechanism is positioned between an upperend of the first portion and an upper end of the second portion.
 17. Theanimal trap as described in claim 10, further comprising a stoppingmechanism configured to stop the first and second portions at thedeployed position.
 18. The animal trap as described in claim 10, whereinthe trigger mechanism is self-actuating when the first and secondportions are moved from the deployed position to the cocked position.19. The animal trap as described in claim 10, further comprising anindicator on the first portion that is visible when the first and secondportions are in a deployed position.